Student essay competition

Voice of the Listener & Viewer is inviting entries from students for an essay writing competition on ‘The Future of UK Public Service Broadcasting in the Digital Age’. The winning entrant will receive a cash prize of £1,000.

Entry is open to students studying for a UK registered undergraduate or post-graduate degree or qualification, or an NCTJ recognised journalism qualification. Entries can be submitted as either a written essay of not more than 2,000 words or as a short audio or video feature of no more than 10 minutes in length.

The closing date for the competition is Tuesday, 31st May, 2005, and the winner will be announced in the summer of 2005. The top three entrants will also receive two weeks work experience with a television production company.

Full details about the competition, and an entry form which has to be completed, are available on the VLV website at www.vlv.org.uk, or by post from 101 King’s Drive, Gravesend, KENT DA12 5BQ.

Jocelyn Hay, Chairman of VLV said: "Faced with economic, social and technological change, public service broadcasting is having to be increasingly innovative about its future. VLV’s Student Essay Competition is designed to allow the broadcasters, journalists and digital creators of tomorrow to tell us about their vision for the future of public service broadcasting. We want to hear about the challenges and opportunities facing public service broadcasting, as well as the threats. I hope that this competition, one of a range of initiatives VLV is undertaking in its 21st anniversary year, will bring forward some exciting ideas and new thinking about public service broadcasting."